Activating the Power of God’s Word

[Jesus] said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

SO FAR WE have explored many life-transforming declarations. But I have saved one for last—one I consider the most powerful of all. In fact, it is the declaration that Jesus saved for last too.

In the world’s darkest hour—at the height of sin’s ugliest achievement, when Jesus’s body was utterly shredded on the cross—Jesus amazingly mustered up the energy to make one last announcement: “It is finished.” Then only a few seconds later He bowed His head to die (John 19:30).

I imagine that to most of the onlookers on crucifixion day, Jesus’s declaration must have sounded like the last desperate words of a madman. “Sure, it’s finished!” they likely mocked. “The ‘king of the Jews’ has reached His crowning moment—death on a cross.” Oh, but little did they know! “It is finished” wasn’t the gasp of a life about to be extinguished. This was certainly no declaration of defeat, but one of a mighty, mighty victory! And from that day forward, these final words from the cross would serve to change history.

The cross wasn’t the only instance in which Jesus spoke of a finished work. Just before His betrayal and arrest, He prayed to His Father: “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). The Greek word used here for finish is teleō. And it means what you would expect—“to complete” or “to fulfill.”¹ The context in which Jesus uses it, however, is a telling clue that there was much more to His time on earth than what meets the eye. It is the hint of a surprise soon to be revealed.

And so it was. Bursting forth atop Calvary’s hill, Jesus’s final declaration lit up the sky like a fireworks grand finale.

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

—JOHN 19:30

Here, at the climax of His crucifixion, the word for finished changed from teleō to tetelestai—a highly unique form of teleō that was never used in the New Testament before or after the cross.

While our English translation doesn’t convey this, the difference between these two words for finished is profoundly revealing. The original word means “to complete” while the declaration on the cross means “mission accomplished!” Accordingly, “It is finished” was as if a curtain lifted to make a grand reveal. In the foresight of the cross Jesus hinted at something about to be finished. But on the cross He revealed, “Mission accomplished! Everything that had to be done has been done! It is finished!”²

Jesus’s declaration begs the question: “What was this grand accomplishment?” I’m glad you asked! The Bible makes it crystal clear:

The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

—1 JOHN 3:8

How awesome! “It is finished” was Jesus’s declaration that the works of Satan were destroyed—the devil’s devices demolished, his plot aborted, and his power stripped away. This deserves some serious praise!

As we have already discussed, the original creation is indicative of God’s perfect will. Adam and Eve enjoyed a flawless creation, intimacy with the Father, righteousness, knowledge only of godly ways, and a life free of sickness and death. At the end of His work, God proclaimed, “It was very good,” for good reason—evil was nowhere to be found (Gen. 1:31).

In a risky move God gave control of His freshly created earth to a new owner—humankind. Adam, Eve, and their offspring (us!) were to manage and be in authority over “every living thing that moves” (Gen. 1:28). This was something Satan believed he could exploit. After he was kicked out of heaven because he couldn’t be God, the devil devised a plan to steal authority from humankind to become the god of earth (John 14:30). And as the story goes, that is precisely what happened.

When the first couple gave in to Satan’s temptation in the garden, they essentially handed over control, and the works of the devil were instantly apparent. Adam and Eve were no longer innocent; they became aware of their guilt and shame. Suddenly the soil became difficult to work and getting food became a struggle. Death, sickness, and disease began to reign (Rom. 5:12). And the saddest outcome was that God could no longer be in intimate relationship with the people He loved so much. Offerings, sacrifices, and laws were later instituted to make restitution for all of this sin. But they didn’t work. No, to finally rescue His creation and His people, God had a greater plan in store.

Jesus is the personification of God’s ultimate plan. He entered this sin-wrecked world and focused His time here on overthrowing Satan’s reign in order to restore creation to the way it was before the devil wrecked it.

It is amazing to understand how everything about Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection accomplished this mission. Let’s explore this now.

Peter summarized Jesus’s ministry by noting that He “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). Jesus’s healings and exorcisms were a type of victory over Satan. As we explored in chapter 16, Jesus’s healings demonstrated that divine health had returned. His exorcisms demonstrated the return of authority. Amazingly, He gave the power of His name and His Word to activate both healing and authority to all God’s people. “By using my name they will cast out demons . . . they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover,” He assured (Mark 16:17–18).

In God’s original creation, humankind had no knowledge of evil. Thus evil thoughts, speech, and actions had no influence. With Adam and Eve’s fall, however, this immediately changed, and the Bible records that their eyes were opened (Gen. 3:7). With this God declared, “The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). Jesus’s teaching ministry was strategically aimed at defeating the knowledge of evil. Because of it, we have His Word to renew our minds with the knowledge of good and be transformed into the mind of Christ (Rom. 12:2).

The prophet Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be “despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering” (Isa. 53:3). He then concluded, “Yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12). Jesus’s crucifixion fulfilled this prophecy that through His sacrifice humanity would be rescued and redeemed. Allow me to explain.

First, as a sacrifice Jesus paid the penalty of death that humankind deserves because of their sin. This is what Hebrews boasts: “He . . . put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26, ESV). Second, through His sacrifice He took our identity of sin and gave us His identity of righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). In doing so, He overcame our separation from God. Now covered in the holiness of Christ, we are restored into relationship with God and may boldly enter His presence. Finally, Mark asserted that Jesus gave His life as “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). This is marvelous! Because of Jesus’s sacrifice we are freed from bondage to sin and to Satan’s rule.

Do you see everything that Jesus’s sacrifice accomplished? We are purified, made righteous, restored to relationship with God, cleansed from sin, and empowered to overcome the devil. These are all the astonishing results of Christ’s victory over the works of Satan—and they all were accomplished on the cross.

As we have seen, by the time Jesus declared, “It is finished,” He had already accomplished awesome victory over Satan. But there was more to come. Therefore, Jesus’s declaration is also a prophetic one. You see, on the cross Jesus had yet to complete the validation of His mission, which was to rise from the dead. Resurrection was absolutely paramount to prove everything else He accomplished. Without rising from the dead, all His work before would have been for nothing.

Prophetically, when Jesus declared, “It is finished,” He alerted the devil that nothing could keep Him down—a resurrection was coming. And indeed it did! Paul boasted that Jesus “was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Yes, through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus triumphed over every force that opposed Him and conquered the final work of the devil, which is death. “Death has been swallowed up in victory,” Paul proclaimed (1 Cor. 15:54). With this, Jesus therefore restored God’s perfect will for His people to enjoy eternal life in His presence.

The following chart summarizes the amazing ways Jesus accomplished His mission of overcoming the works of Satan in our lives.

God’s Perfect Will	Satan’s Work	Because of Jesus’s Victory
Divine health	Sickness and disease	Access to healing in Jesus’s name
Dominion for humanity	Stolen authority	Authority over Satan in Jesus’s name
Knowledge of godly ways	Knowledge of evil	The transformation of the mind by God’s Word; the mind of Christ
Righteousness and relationship with God	Sin and separation from God	Relationship with God based on Christ’s righteousness
Eternal life in God’s presence	Death	Eternal life in God’s presence

Fascinatingly, the devil didn’t see any of this coming. In fact, when Jesus was on the cross, Satan thought he had won the victory. Shortly before Jesus’s final declaration, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). With this, Satan and his minions must have had a victory dance, celebrating that they had achieved their mission to separate the Father from the Son. But their party was short lived. Just moments later, when Jesus declared tetelestai—“It is finished”—the devil knew that the tables had been turned. And certainly they were!

The cross was never something that unfortunately happened to Jesus. No, the cross was always the plan of the Father and the Son from before creation (1 Pet. 1:20). For a while Jesus allowed the devil to believe that he had led Him to the cross. But Jesus went to the cross voluntarily! All the while He was actually leading Satan into a trap through which He accomplished His mission to destroy the works of the devil. The cross was the ultimate “gotcha!”

In the most stunning way, “It is finished” uncovered the most brilliant strategy in history. The Bible reveals that if Satan and his forces would have truly understood the plan of the cross, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). But by that time Satan had lost, and there was nothing he could do to escape that truth.

Shortly after my encounter at the cross, God instructed me to make the cross a central theme in my ministry. That is why so much of what you have read throughout this book is in some way rooted in it. But in addition to teaching about the cross, God charged me to impart its power into those to whom I minister.

When I preach, I do this in several ways, depending on the situation. Sometimes I lead the congregation into declarations regarding everything received because of Christ’s finished work: healing, deliverance, righteousness, and so on. Then we close with a powerful shout of victory: “It is finished!” Other times I lay hands on individuals and directly declare, “It is finished!” over them. Whatever the format I use, the power of the cross is always sure to bring a freedom and victory that many have never experienced.

The great news is that you can experience this power for yourself right now. As we reviewed at the beginning of this book, God’s spoken Word succeeds in whatever it is meant to do. And “It is finished” was meant to announce the defeat of the devil. As you declare it out of your mouth, I believe it will go to work to accomplish its mission in every area of your life.

Remember, Jesus made His declaration at the most painful time, when He was just one breath away from death. The timing of His declaration reveals that even in the most challenging and darkest circumstances—when you feel cut to the core, when everyone is against you, when it looks as if all is lost—you can still make a declaration of victory. In fact, in these moments it is crucial that you do.

Declaring, “It is finished,” over your life or situation alerts the devil that you are standing firm on God’s Word about who you are and what you have in Christ. It forewarns Satan that your current circumstances are not the final answer—they will not kill you. Instead, something good is about to happen. Yes, a resurrection is on the way! Over whatever situation you are in, activate the power of God’s Word: “It is finished!”^*

#ActivateTheWord

It is finished!

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus have completely destroyed the works of the devil in my life. Guilt and shame are finished; sickness is finished; fear and insecurity are finished. I am no longer in bondage to sin, and the victory of Jesus’s finished work has freed me to enjoy a new life in the glory of God’s presence—forever.